Have you ever been to Florence?
If you have, you probably fell in love with it like we did!
It was my second time in Florence (Karl’s first time) and I fell in love with this city all over again!
The colours, the bridges, the greenery, the food; pretty much everything is great in this city!
We also discovered a bunch of shops, restaurants and areas that I had not seen last time I came here! We got accustomed to our apartment and our neck of the woods and we were really sad we didn’t stay more than 2 weeks!
Here are a few pictures we took around the city! I’ll talk about our fav spots after!
Il Ponte Vecchio (the famous bridge on which they sell gold!)
View from a vantage point! Gorgeous isn’t it?
You know how much I love tea right? One day, we were just walking around and we found this cute little tea shop called Tealicious. After spending a few weeks in southern Italy, where the only tea you can find is super stale grocery store tea, I was naturally very excited that we came across this store! We went in and ended up staying for a while, talking with the lovely Marcela, the owner of the tea shop! We went back about 4 times during our stay to stack up on some tea. Marcela is such a nice and kind lady! Every single tea we tasted and bought was out of this world! If you ever got o Florence you HAVE to go see her! She really is a gem! www.tealicious.it
Now let’s talk booze!
What’s better than a nice glass of wine after a long day of sightseeing? It’s a rhetorical question people! Nothing is better than that!
The place to go have a drink (or a bottle, whatever floats your boat!) is Le Volpi e l’uva. This place is actually a wine bar so get ready to drink some amazing wine!
We went to Le Volpi e l’uva twice. That’s how good the wine selection was!
They also serve great food and they have a great Italian cheese platter!
As you can see in the following picture, we had some delicious Prosecco and the Italian cheese platter. It also came with different types of honey and dijon. Delicious!
The staff was nice and the atmosphere was great. All and all, a MUST!
Now, food!
Well, as you know, Italy is known for its pasta! We found this small fresh pasta shop where they actually prepare the pasta in front of you! They don’t make the dough in front of you but they cut it to the style of pasta you want! We chose tagliatelle and he made them right there 🙂
We got enough pasta for two meals for about 2 euros!
If you ever look for this place in Firenze, you’ll need my help! It doesn’t really have a name so look for a sign that says ”fresh pasta” around via dei Rustici (near the corner of via dei Neri, just meters away from the Uffizi Gallery).
As for sweets, there are two places you simply cannot miss!
First one: Vestri
Vestri is a chocolate shop that’s quite well-known for it’s delicious chocolate but also for its AMAZING Gelato. Did I say Amazing? Because it really is. Karl and I are now pretty good at testing Gelato (yeah, we made it a “thing”). We tasted quite a few gelatos during our stay in Italy so when I say that this gelato is the bomb, rest assured that I am right about this one because I do not kid around when I talk about Gelato! Gelato is serious business. Gelato can be very disappointing!
My favourite flavour of all time is Nocciola (Hazelnut). It is the best flavour ever and Vestri makes the BEST Nocciola gelato going!
So….where are you going to eat your gelato next time you’re in Florence? Vestri? Good Girl/Boy!
Ok! Now let’s talk Cannoli!
Since we landed in Italy, Karl was craving cannoli. I read up online that this place in Florence was making them fresh, on the spot for customers. I don’t need to describe how excited Karl was when I brought him to Carabé. Like a kid in a candy store I tell ya! (On a side note, I love how he gets as excited as I do when it comes to food! That’s how I know we’re in this for the long run ;))
Carabé is actually known for its homemade ice cream, which is good, but not as good as Vestri! They are also known to make fresh ricotta and pistachio filled cannoli. When you go to their shop, you have to ask for a cannoli because they are not displayed since they make them from scratch!
I mean, look at this baby!
Anyways! All of this talk about food, I’m starving!
Next stop, San Gimignano!
Ciao Bella!
Alex
xox
